made it...

So, after 6 months of anticipation, about 5 going away parties, and 72 hours of traveling I finally made it to the Seychelles. and it was all totally worth it. I could not be happier. The people here are wonderful... so happy. Everyone seems to know exactly how lucky they are to be here. It is so indescribably beautiful. The mountains are so majestic, the water is a gorgeous aqua blue and teeming with the most interesting marine life I have ever seen.

It has been so long since I left for mahe, that I don’t even feel like talking about the journey over. It was a pain in the ass and exhausting. But it was good at the same time. I cried the whole way from Dallas to Frankfurt, but when I put my feet on German soil it hit me. Im finally doing this! Frankfurt to London was a breeze... and by the time I got to Doha I was giddy. The flight from Doha to mahe was great, I was so excited. I met mark (GVI staff) at the Doha airport. He is hilarious. After I met him I was reaffirmed that the people were going to be a great bunch.

Sure enough, 1 hour after landing in mahe and getting to my hotel (beau vallon bungalows) I met mike & nikki and gained instant friends. We met up with a few more GVIers and went swimming and exploring the island. It was so much fun! I was determined not to sleep until that evening to avoid jet lag, which I miraculously accomplished. The next day we went into Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles (the smallest capital in the world) and explored. It was awesome. The program started on January 9th. GVI picked up everyone from their hotels etc & took us to the base at Cap Ternay Marine Park. I already recognized a few staff & volunteers from facebook, and we all became instant friends. I guess when everyone is put into a fairly abnormal situation it is easy to bond quickly.

We all got into the routine fairly quickly & were diving & learning corals by the 10th. We have been here for about a week and are having our first coral exam tomorrow! When I say "learning corals" I mean learning the families & genus of all the corals found in the Indian- Pacific so that we can ID them while diving (the point of the program). We must pass our exams with 100% accuracy; our data collection will be of a scientifically reliable grade and will be used with local conservation groups etc. I am really excited to be doing something to help the ocean I love. It is disheartening to learn that 95% of the Ocean's biomass has died/ been destroyed by humans in the past 50 years. I want to get up and scream, but that wont do any good. So for now, this is all I know to do.

I am happy to get back to the things in life that make me happy. I love the ocean & nature. I love walking everywhere with bare feet. I feel at home.

I will update more later! The internet REALLY sucks & is so frustrating to try to send emails, update facebook & complete this blog! Pictures to follow!

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